Australia Before Wine
Between 150 and 140 Ma (mega-annum, or a million years) ago, during the second phase of the breaking up of Pangaea, Australia began to separate from the rest of Gondwana. Then in the Late Cretaceous period, New Zealand, New Caledonia and the rest of Zealandia began to separate from Australia. During the third phase of the Pangaea break-up, Australia split from Antarctica and moved quickly northward. As an FYI, Australia is considered to be on a collision course with the south-eastern coast of Asia. But don’t worry, we have about 150 to 250 million years before things get dicey. In the meantime, lets talk about wine!
Australia’s Aboriginals and First Colonies
It is believed that the first arrival of humans on to the Australian mainland happened between 40 and 60 thousand years ago, but possibly as early as 70 thousand years ago. At the time of first European contact, it has been estimated the existing population was at least 350,000 people.
The first known landing in Australia by Europeans was by Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon in 1606. Janszoon made landfall near the town of Weipa, on the northern coast of Australia. The Dutch eventually named the continent New Holland. In 1770, Lieutenant James Cook became the first recorded European to see Australia’s eastern coast and claimed the it for Britain, with no regard to the indigenous people in the area. Cook returned to England and expressed support for the colonization of Botany Bay (now Sydney). As a result, the British government decided to establish a colony at Botany Bay in 1787, partially to prevent the French from expanding further in the South Pacific[1,2]. Eleven convict ships set sail to be the first to settle in the colony of Sydney, arriving there on the 20th of January, 1788.
It is commonly referenced that Australia was set up as a result of overcrowding in British prisons and as such, convicts were sent there. What may be lesser known, is that this was somewhat common practice for all British colonies, not just Australia. The British government had been transporting convicts overseas to the American colonies in the early 17th century as well. With the British on the losing end of the American Revolutionary War, they were looking for new areas to colonize and continue to provide relief for British prisons[1,2]. Many convicts who were transported to these penal colonies had committed petty crimes, while a significant number were political prisoners. The most serious crimes, such as rape and murder, were punishable by death and therefore not among the prisoners available to be transferred overseas.
The Wine Era Begins
The first known record of successful European grape production in Australia dates from 1791. The grapes arrived in Australia in 1788 on board one of the ships from the First Fleet of settlers. However, they had difficulty surviving in the original planting location, so they were moved farther inland, east to Parramatta, to the Governor’s estate.
Shortly thereafter, John Macarthur would establish Australia’s first commercial vineyard. John Macarthur was a British army officer, entrepreneur, and pioneer of the new colonies in Australia. He arrived in Sydney in 1790 and was granted 100 acres of land in 1793. After becoming the first man to cultivate 50 acres in the colony, Macarthur was given another 100 acres in the following year. He named the property Elizabeth Farm in honor of his wife. A year after receiving the land which he developed into Elizabeth Farm, Macarthur began his first experiments in improving wool growth. He developed a fine wool blend by combining the hairs of Bengal ewes with Irish wool rams[4]. By 1801, Macarthur was the largest sheep herder in the colony, although I’m not sure if he had much competition. Macarthur’s vineyard was founded in 1817, started by bringing imported vine plants back with him when he returned to New South Wales[3].
In 1822, another Sydney pioneer, Gregory Blaxland, became the first exporter of Australian wine when he shipped 136 liters to London. This first vintage was awarded a silver medal by the Royal Society of Arts (RSA). Within the decade, in 1828, a larger shipment of Blaxland’s wine won the gold Ceres medal from the RSA[5]. In 1833, James Busby (known as the “father” of the Australian wine industry) returned from France and Spain with an extensive selection of grapes to bolster his vineyards. including most classic French grapes and a good selection of grapes for fortified wine production.
Show Me the Gold
The first officially recognized gold find in the colonies was in 1823, but it wasn’t until John Lister and William Tom found 120 grams of gold in April of 1851 that the first gold rush started[6]. The gold rushes in Australia caused a population boom in the area. Another result of this population increase was the Crown Lands Alienation Act and Crown Lands Occupation Act, commonly referred to as the combined Land Selection Acts (1860 – 1872). Area under vine just about tripled and liters of wine produced increased more than four-fold between 1851 and 1871.
Australian wine suffered much during the early 20th century. World Wars I and II all but stopped the export of Australian wine. However, the migration of immigrants after the end of World War II helped bring wine-making skills down under. This started the downturn in fortified wine and an uptick in higher quality production. Australia hasn’t really looked back since then, exporting about 150 million liters of wine to the US alone in 2016[7].
It is worth noting that Australia does not use the traditional appellation d’origine contrôlée (AOC) to differentiate their wines. Instead, they use a geographic indicator (GI). So it is most likely that you will see the Australian wines with the regional names that we discuss.
The wine industry in the southeastern region of the county is responsible for most of the production of wine in Australia, so that is where we will be focusing our discussion[8]. However, there are a few districts on the western side of the country, surrounding Perth, (Great Southern, Margaret River, and Swan District) that are worth at least covering.
Jump to: Western Australia | South Australia | New South Wales | Queensland | Victoria | Tasmania
Western Australia
The Great Southern
This wine region of Australia is the largest geographically in the Western half of the country. It is comprised of five sub-regions: Porongurups, Mount Barker, Albany, Denmark, and Frankland Rive. The cooler climate in this region makes it more suitable for growth than the Swan District. The main varieties of grapes that are grown here are Riesling, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Shiraz, and Malbec[8].
Margaret River
This region has the lowest mean annual temperature range of any in Australia. The climate in the Margaret River region is similar to that of Bordeaux in a dry vintage[9]. The Margaret River is known for producing a significant share of the premium wine in Australia, roughly 20%. This is all the more impressive when noted that the region only accounts for about 3% of total grape production in the country. The amount of red and white wines produced in the region is fairly equal. The principal grape varieties in the region are: Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Sauvignon blanc, Sémillon, Shiraz, Merlot, Chenin blanc, and Verdelho[10].
Swan District
This region is the hottest of any in Australia. Here, the grape harvest usually starts in January. The varieties of grape grown here are: Verdelho, Chenin blanc, and Chardonnay. This region has regressed since the 1970s, producing a smaller portion of grapes each year. This is due to both the growth in the other local regions and some producers closing their doors[8].
South Australia
The South Australia region contributes more than half of the production of all wine made in the country. It produces a wide range of both wine varieties as well as qualities, making mass-produced boxed wine as well as some of Australia’s best fine wines. The first record of planting grapes in the region was in 1836 in Chichester Gardens, North Adelaide. There are eight zones within the South Australia region[11].
Adelaide Super Zone (Barossa | Fleurieu | Mount Lofty Ranges)
Established in 1996, Adelaide, the only super zone in Australia is made up of three GI zones: Barossa, Fleurieu, and Mount Lofty Ranges.
The Barossa zone contains some of the oldest and well-awarded vineyards. The region is known for Shiraz and more recently Riesling. The region is home to Hill of Grace vineyard with its 140+ year old Shiraz vines. If you are interested in learning about the difference (or lack thereof) between Shiraz and Syrah, click here.
Just south of Adelaide is the Fleurieu zone, which includes Kangaroo Island. Many varieties of grape are grown in this zone, but the main varieties are: Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Riesling, Viognier, Shiraz, Sémillon, Sauvignon blanc, Merlot, and Primitivo.
The third zone within the super zone is the Mount Lofty Ranges, just east of the city of Adelaide. Being a mountainous region, this zone experiences some of the coolest weather and some of the hottest weather in southern Australia.
Far North
Another older region, grapes have been grown in this zone since the 1890s. The area grows primarily Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Shiraz grapes.
Limestone Coast
This zone is the farthest south of the any in the South Australia region. The region has also found some success with its Cabernet, Chardonnay, Malbec, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Pinot noir, Riesling, Sauvignon blanc, Sémillon and Shiraz.
Lower Murray (Riverland)
This area is heavily irrigated. The irrigation was established as a government response to the economic depression of the 1890s. The area is responsible for growing over half of South Australia’s wine grapes. The major varieties of grape are: Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Malbec, and Riesling. The region is also home to one of the largest single plantings of Petit Verdot in the world, with the Kingston Estate owning 250 acres of this single variety.
Peninsulas
While formally recognized, this is a more informal zone, with there being little record of what is actually planted here. About half of the wine is considered neither red or white, but “unknown”.
New South Wales
Made up of eight GI zones, this area is home to the very first Australian vineyard, which was planted with vines from the Dutch South African colonies.
Big Rivers
This is the largest producing wine area in New South Wales and carries many of the same characteristics and grape varieties of that of the Riverland area. After Riverland, the Big Rivers region is Australia’s second largest wine producing region and is responsible for many of Australia’s box and mass-produced wine brands. Sémillon and Shiraz are the most popular plantings in the region.
Central Ranges
Located near the extinct volcano Mount Canobolas, this region was first planted in 1858 and was never affected by the phylloxera epidemic that hit Australia in the late 19th century. That makes it the longest, unbroken history of viticulture in New South Wales. Major Central Ranges varietals are Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz. The area is home to a unique clone of Chardonnay that is virtually virus-free. Australia’s first organic wine estate was founded in this region.
Hunter Valley
Located just north of Sydney, this region has had plantings since the early 1800s. Sémillon is the iconic wine of the region but they also produce wine from Shiraz, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Verdelho. Wines from the Busby estate in this region were pivotal in bringing new European grapes to Australia.
Northern Rivers
Grapes in this smaller region were first planted in 1837. There were 33 vineyards by 1860 in the Northern Rivers area, however these declined and as a result there was no wine production between 1920 and 1980 in the region. Many new vineyards came to the area and the major varieties now produced here are: Chardonnay, Sémillon, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Chambourcin.
Northern Slopes
The Northern Slopes GI has traditionally been a major wheat-growing area, but in recent decades irrigated crops, especially cotton, have become significant. The primary exports are cotton, coal, beef, lamb and pork, cereal and oil-seed grains. Wine production is small in this region and has very limited export quantities.
South Coast
The South Coast is another small producing region. The region is popularly known for Chambourcin, a French red wine. It also produces small amounts of Chardonnay, Riesling, Sauvignon blanc, Pinot noir and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Southern New South Wales
The Tumbarumba region, the most southern part of the Southern New South Wales region is located in the foothills of the Australian Alps and is the coolest region in New South Wales. The Shiraz from the region are said to exhibit black pepper flavors, which resemble the Old World Syrah’s of France rather than Australian Shiraz. Other grape vairieties grown here are: Chardonnay, Pinot noir, Riesling, and Viognier. Clonakilla, a winery in the region, helped to popularize the practice of blending Viognier with Shiraz.
Western Plains
Viticulture is not a key industry in the Western Plains and the zone contains no official wine regions. Australia’s most widely planted grape varieties; Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, and Shiraz dominate whatever plantings there are in the Western Plains zone. An addition to those grapes is the warm climate specialist, Grenache. Wines from this region are typically fortified and are typically made for sale in bulk[12].
Queensland
This region, one of the newest in Australia, is located on the eastern coast, in two distinct regions around Brisbane. The South Burnett region only started growing grapes in 1993 and as far as I can tell, the Granite Belt is even more recent. The commonly grown grapes in the region are: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, Sémillion, Shiraz, Verdelho, and Viognier.
Victoria
With over 600 wineries, Victoria has more wine producers than any other Australian wine-producing state. The production, however, ranks only third since it does not produce grapes destined for bulk-pack boxed wines. In the 1890s this region produced more than half of all wine produced in Australia, but lost many vines during the phylloxera epidemic. Many varieties of grapes are planted here, including some more rare types. You can find Shiraz, Chardonnay, Cabernet, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier, Sangiovese, Pinot noir, Pinot Gris, Nebbiolo, Graciano, Lagrein, and Tannat.
Tasmania
Located 150 mi (240 km) to the south of the Australian mainland, Tasmania is an island that was settled by the British around the turn of the 19th century. The first attempt at growing grapes on the island was completely unsuccessful. The result of this failure was that Tasmania was dubbed “not a wine growing country”. A second attempt, during the 1880s and 1890s had another failed trial on Maria Island. By 1901, the year in which Tasmania became an Australian state, it was the only state without a commercial wine industry. It took until the 1950s for vineyards to take hold and start to increase its international fame[13]. Common grapes grown on the island are: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, and Riesling.
Sources
1) History of Australia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Australia
2) Convicts in Australia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convicts_in_Australia
3) Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
https://web.archive.org/web/20091211212201/http://www.dfat.gov.au/facts/wine.html
4) John Macarthur
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Macarthur
5) Australia’s wine industry
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet – http://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/australias-wine-industry
6) Australian gold rushes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_gold_rushes
7) USITC Interactive Tariff and Trade Database
https://dataweb.usitc.gov/
8) Australian wine
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_wine
9) The Australian wine encyclopedia
James Halliday – Hardie Grant – 2012
10) Margaret River (wine region)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_River_(wine_region)
11) South Australian wine
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Australian_wine
12) Wine-Searcher. Find and price wines, beers and spirits across all online stores.
https://www.wine-searcher.com/
